Second-round pick Mike Green led college football in sacks last season and looks like the natural successor to Kyle Van Noy for the Baltimore Ravens, but it’s not Van Noy he’s studying. Instead, Green is learning some pass-rushing secrets from a key member of the legendary 2000 Ravens defense that won the franchise its first Super Bowl.
Green’s taking pointers from Michael McCrary, who logged 51 sacks in six seasons with the Ravens. His finest hour was starting for the unit that has a strong case to be the best in NFL history.
McCrary took Green “through pass rush moves” after practice on Wednesday, August 13, according to Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic.
Any help the Ravens can give Green, the better chance he has to solve a not-insignificant problem. Namely, the need to get younger and more explosive on the edge.
It’s something another youthful edge defender can help make happen. A surprising breakout candidate who is also studying a “physical” and “gritty” former outside linebacker who made 132 starts for the Ravens.
Ravens Must Get Younger at Outside Linebacker
Green is the future at a position where the Ravens have waited for David Ojabo and Adisa Isaac to get healthy and prove consistent. Meanwhile, Van Noy paced the Ravens with 12.5 sacks a year ago, but he’s 34, while fellow starter Odafe Oweh is set to enter free agency in 2026.
Green playing like a first-round stud would give the Ravens a true game-wrecker to build a new-look rotation around. He has the tools, namely, a knack for rushing the passer.
The 22-year-old proved as much by posting a “30.0% pass rush win rate” when the Ravens beat the Indianapolis Colts 24-16 in preseason Week 1, per Pro Football Focus.
McCrary exhibited the same trait during his own playing days. The latter won out of 3-4 and 4-3 fronts, so his expertise can help Green quickly get up to speed in the hybrid schemes the Ravens still run in the trenches.
Listening to the right people will position Green to be the dynamic pass-rusher the Ravens need, while another up-and-coming edge player fulfils a different role.
Tavius Robinson Chose Right Ex-Ravens Player to Study
He’s being touted as central to what the Ravens do defensively, but Tavius Robinson knows he needs help. The 26-year-old explained he’s “done a couple of deep dives” into the game of Jaret Johnson.
The latter played for the Ravens from 2003-’11, and Robinson described him as “a guy that maybe didn’t get all the credit that he deserved – sack wise and pass wise – but he was a dominant run defender, dominant physical, gritty player,” per Ravens.com Editorial Director Ryan Mink and Staff Writer Clifton Brown.
Determined to do more than just share the No. 95 with Johnson, Robinson has “watched Johnson’s highlights and even tuned into podcasts Johnson has been on to try to get inside his head.”
All of the study should help Robinson live up to the billing as the potential “centerpiece” of Baltimore’s front seven. It’s a tall order, but Johnson is an ideal frame of reference for Robinson.
Both fit the profile as bulky hybrids adept at setting the edge, but also possessing the versatility to be moved around formations and create disruption.
Johnson was no demon as a pass-rusher, logging just 20 sacks in a Ravens uniform, per Pro Football Reference. What he did best was put up a wall against the run and smother coverage matchups with muscle.
Essentially, Johnson was a no-frills bookend to a more explosive edge-rusher. The perfect complement to seven-time Pro Bowler Terrell Suggs.
There’s no new Suggs just yet, but Green is being primed to be a similar game-changing edge-rusher the Ravens have lacked for too long. Robinson’s less flashy role could be just as important, and might even create another Suggs-Johnson type partnership.
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